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Thirty years ago, you couldn't give one away. Carved wooden carousel horses, chariots, and menagerie figures were the ungainly remnants of turn-of-the-century amusement parks. Often considered garbage, they were sold from one machine to another to replace broken, missing figures, or "rescued" from the trash by park operators, carvers, or others under their magic spell, and taken home.

These were among the first unwitting steps at preserving a delicate chapter in American art and woodworking. Even figures over a century old have survived.

However, modern collectors are riding a race against time.

"There are only 200 or fewer anti-que operating wooden carousels left in the country," explains Louise Lauretano DeMars, Executive Director of the New England Carousel Museum.

"What's even scarier is what happens when carousels break up. It's as if someone fires a gun, and bang! They're gone, and the pieces go into a black hole and scatter." Some dismantled figures lie forgotten in barns and attics, their paint peeling and their soft wood decaying under an onslaught of moisture and insects. Others have been purchased, individually or together, by collectors and restorationists.

"Every time a carousel goes to the auction block, those animals are never to be brought back together again. So people who hang on to intact rides are very important. They protect a set of animals from being broken up," says DeMars.

The Golden Age of the Carousel was approximately 1870-1930, its demise another dark statistic of Wall Street's Stock Market crash and the Great Depression. For the next half-century, a carousel figure could be bought for less than $50, if not for free, with its removal often seen as a favor by its previous owner.

But no longer. Depending on the carver, style, paint, and scarcity of figures from the same machine, finding an authentic wooden carousel horse is akin to hitting the jackpot.

How big is the payback? Roughly, a horse costing $45 in 1970 can be worth $45,000 now.

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Left: D.C. Muller outside row stander with pistol on shoulder. Carved in Philadelphia, c. 1903. Freels Collection. William Manns photo.

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MEET THE MUSEUM

 

When a previously undervalued item, like a carousel figure, becomes a red-hot commodity, eager collectors can encounter misinformation, self-proclaimed experts, and cheap replicas in their quest for a good investment. That excellent piece of advice, "Do your homework before you buy," is only possible once legitimate specialists, who can serve as teachers, can be identified.

Meet the New England Carousel Museum. Its two locations (Bristol and Mystic, CT) share one of the largest collections of antique carousel pieces in the United States. In addition to protecting and preserving animals from both defunct and working carousels, the Museum (www.carousels.com) offers professional restoration services, and can identify and evaluate private pieces by appointment.

Although called a "museum" when the first branch, Bristol, opened in 1989, in reality an "attraction" was launched. It had an "Ooh, aah!" atmosphere, but no structured education programs or exhibition materials to accompany the displays.

"Immediate energy went into research, to create education programs, temporary exhibitions, and special events," states DeMars, who has been with the Museum since its inception. "We wanted activities that would bring in people of all ages. Education programs were launched that were accurate, informative, and fun. Grant funding allowed our project team to research and develop new exhibition material. Our visitors, for the first time, had a choice in how they learned about the subject matter."

Enormous change resulted. The new branch, in Mystic, has created opportunities for artisans, carvers, painters, and restorers to come in on a regular basis to demonstrate the art of the carousel, and a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council will allow them to research, write, and produce an historic collections manual.

The Mystic facility has a working (fiberglass) carousel, exhibitions, gift shop, a workshop for carving, painting, and restoration demonstrations, and space for education programs or facility rentals. Bristol provides the educational and research component. Both will continue to exhibit carousel material while Mystic develops as the 'showplace,' and Bristol evolves into an Education Center.

"Thousands of visitors come just to see the lovely horses and animals. They leave filled with respect for the carousel, both as an art form, and as an important part of our heritage," says DeMars.

"Our goal is to expand our restoration branch into a Regional Conservation Laboratory and Teaching Facility for antique folk art restoration, and the creation of new work. Our ultimate goal is to have representative material from all major carvers, plus an archive for carousel-related material, which will be called, The Carousel Conservation Center."

 

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Left: Herschell Spillman county fair style jumper made in North Tonawanda, New York, c. 1920. William Manns photo.

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CARVERS AND STYLES

Understanding carousel art begins with identifying the three basic carving styles and the men who made them famous.

 

THE CONEY ISLAND STYLE

Epitomized by the epic amusement park, where carvers like Charles Looff, M.C. Illions, Charles Carmel, and Stein & Goldstein, displayed their work, Coney Island style horses had animated poses, golden, "waterfall" manes, elaborate ornaments (buckles or "cabbage roses") and glass jewels. Horses were realistic, but more stylized than the Philadelphia style.

Charles Carmel (1865-1931)

Carmel, a Russian immigrant employed by Looff, used the horses ridden in Brooklyn's Prospect Park as models. Only once in 1911, did the carver ever try to work for himself rather than someone else: his Carmel carousel, intended to operate at Dreamland Park, burned to the ground on opening day, taking the entire park down with it. The uninsured Carmel was financially ruined. He never built another machine, but continued carving horses for others.

 

M.C. "Mike" Illions (1865-1949)

"Of all horse carvers," said Looff, "Mike Illions is King Pin."

Fleeing Lithuania to escape the Russian Army, it is speculated that Illions studied art in Paris or Germany before perfecting his craft in England, carving carousels and circus wagons before coming to the United States in 1888. He worked for Looff before opening his own business in 1909, Illions and Sons. One of the only carvers to sign his king horses, he also did religious art for synagogues and churches.

 

Charles Looff (1852-1919)

A German immigrant, Looff arrived in Brooklyn in 1870, working as a furniture maker by day and dance instructor by night. In 1876, he built Coney Island's first carousel, working alone in his basement carving each horse from leftover wood he'd brought home from the factory. Looff moved his shop to Riverside, RI, in 1905, and his popular carousels helped launch the careers of several carvers in his employ, including M.C. Illions and Charles Carmel.

 

Solomon Stein (1882-1937) & Harry Goldstein (1865-1945)

Leaving Russia to escape anti-Semitism and find their fortunes in America, they instead found jobs in Brooklyn, carving flowers on ladies' combs. By 1905, Stein and Goldstein began carving horses, turning those tiny flowers into a large, "cabbage rose" style, that embellished their animals. Like Carmel, their first S&G carousel, in Virginia Beach, burned to the ground. Left with $20,000 in debt, they turned to operating carousels, rather than carving them; of 17 creations, they owned eleven.

 

THE COUNTRY FAIR STYLE

 

Produced for small, rural fairs or traveling carnivals, Country Fair horses were simplistic, in stylized poses that were easily transportable (flat ears, outstretched legs). Producing them were C.W. Parker, Armitage Herschell, Herschell-Spillman, Spillman Engineering Corporation, and Allan Herschell Company.

 

Allan Herschell (1831-1927)

It was said a Herschell steam-driven carousel "took a cowboy to ride it," and maybe its horses were inspired by the devil himself. The Scotsman, struck by malaria in 1882 while visiting New York City, envisioned his first Herschell Steam Riding Gallery while bedridden with fever.

He later sold carousels worldwide, including one for a sultan's harem in India, and another in Tahiti, where it was powered by burning coconut shells. His partner was his brother-in-law, Ed Spillman. The Allan Herschell Company made aluminum horses until 1970.

 

Charles Wallace Parker (1864-1932)

C.W. Parker started out as a $32 a week janitor at the Dickenson County Court House in Kansas. He saved his money to buy a second-hand carousel, and the Parker Carnival Show was born. An Arkansas newspaper in 1907 called him "a man who by his untiring efforts has rescued the carnival business from the gutter." What Parker's horses lacked in flamboyance was amply compensated for by their owner. The master showman renamed himself Colonel Parker, Carnival King, and the shoes on his carousel horses' feet were forged with his name.

 

THE PHILADELPHIA STYLE

 

Defining this school of carving were large, realistic horses that looked as if they could take an apple right out of your hand. First created by Gustav Dentzel in late-19th century Philadelphia, it was also adopted by his son, William, and family associate, Daniel Muller, as well as the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Dentzel was especially known for creating the sweet-faced mare, and Muller for cavalry mounts representative of the Civil War and pre-World War I periods.

 

William Dentzel (1876-1928)

Nicknamed "Hobby Horse Bill," Dentzel truly was the "Merry-go-round King." As a baby, while his mother collected tickets for carousel rides, baby William slept in a soapbox cradle strapped to the horse which powered the ride. A good carver, after the death of his father, Gustav in 1909, William instead dedicated himself to managing the family company. Five generations later, the Dentzel Carousel Company (www.dentzel.com) is still in business, in Port Townsend, WA.

Daniel Muller (1872-1951)

Muller studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he developed an interest in the U.S. Cavalry horses of the Civil War and pre-World War I periods. The realistic, military mounts became his trademark.

After the death of their father in 1890, Daniel and his brother Alfred were taken in by the Dentzels, given jobs in the carving shop and treated like family. In 1902, when the brothers left to find work elsewhere, Gustav Dentzel never forgave them for this perceived disloyalty. Only after Gustav's death were they welcomed back by William Dentzel.

 

Philadelphia Toboggan Company (1903-1925)

In 1903, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (commonly called PTC) was formed by Auchy and Chester Albright, makers of carousels and roller coasters. Daniel and Alfred Muller were its head carvers until 1907 when they left to open their own company.

With the loss of the brothers, the PTC ceased making menagerie animals, and until the hiring of Frank Caretta in 1912, produced rather unattractive, and poorly-proportioned horses. In its final years, some of the best artists to wield a chisel worked there, including Charles Carmel, Salvatore Cernigliaro, and John Zalar.

 

 

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A very rare bucking carousel horse by Herschell Spillman, c. 1918. Grower Collection. William Manns photo.

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CAROUSELS IN

NEW ENGLAND

 

New England has many lovely machines open to the public on a seasonal basis, including two of the oldest operating carousels in America, Dare's Flying Horses, c. 1884, in Watch Hill, RI, and Martha's Vineyard, MA.

 

Connecticut

* Bristol – Lake Compounce Park, Carmel/Looff/S&G

* Hartford – Bushnell Park, c. 1914 S&G

 

Massachusetts

* Agawam – Riverside Park, c. 1909 Mangels-Illions

* Holyoke – Heritage Park, c. 1929 PTC #80

* Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard – c. 1884 Dare's Flying Horses

 

Maine

* Old Orchard – Palace Playland, c. 1910 PTC #19

* Newfield – Willow Brook Museum, Armitage Herschell

 

New Hampshire

* Glen – Storyland, c. 1900 German

* Lincoln – Fantasy Farm, c. 1920s Allan Herschell

* Salem – Canobie Lake Park, c. 1903 Looff/S&G/Dentzel

 

Rhode Island

* East Providence – Crescent Park, c. 1895 Looff

* Misquamicut – Atlantic Beach Park, Mangels-Illions

* Pawtucket – Slater Memorial Park, c. 1895 Looff

Vermont

* Shelburne – Shelburne Museum, c. 1896 Dentzel

 

RESTORATION

 

"A woman who ran a nursery school came into the Museum with a photo of a carousel horse she'd brought 25 years ago for $500," recounts restorer and tour guide, Kate Langeway, of Wolcott, CT. "The kids loved to play on it, and she wanted to know if it was worth anything.

"I told her a similar horse on a carousel at Revere Beach (MA) sold for $60,000. She heard that and said, 'I won the lottery! Do you think I should insure it?' "

By all means, insure anything you love enough to collect. As for carousel horses, their best protection might also involve restoration. Some collectors even prefer to strip the park or factory paint off completely, allowing the art of the woodcarver's chisel to shine through.

"Carousels were built to make money," explains Langeway. "A horse that wasn't working was a horse that wasn't earning. So when an animal needed repair or repainting, the job was often done as hurriedly as possible.

"Parks generally painted their carousels every few years to keep the rides fresh and attractive – but rarely were the operators concerned about maintaining the original appearance and decoration," she continued. "Figures might accumulate 25 layers of paint over the years."

A restorer must remove those layers one at a time.

Once the paint is removed, a restorer can begin repairing damage to the wood underneath. Metal screws and nails – often used for cheap and quick repair – are removed and replaced with wooden dowels and animal hide glue. Cracks are filled with thin pieces of wood (called shims) before sanding, shellacking, and sanding the figure once more.

Repainting is done by hand, just as it was a century ago. However, while restorers strive for authenticity in both technique and materials, they can't use the same lead-based paints as applied at the turn of the century. A safer, substitute primer paint is used instead.

The process begins with the application of four coats of primer, carefully sanding the surface between each coat. Then, a color palette is mixed from a choice of 16 shades of Japan oil paint. If the figure's original colors are known and verified, it's repainted to look as it did when new. Otherwise, restorers try to recreate a similar classic style and spirit. Each figure receives two layers of paint to increase the intensity of its color.

After painting the body, the attention turns to the mane and tail.

"All that glitters is not gold," says Langeway. "Sometimes it's silver, or aluminum." Gold or metallic manes and trappings are fashioned of paper-thin sheets of gold leaf. Gold leafing, extremely popular in the early 1900s, was widely used to enrich carousels.

The technique uses 23-karat gold that has been pounded into sheets as thin as human hair. The surface to be covered is painted with sizing that serves as a 'glue' for the gold leaf. Although gold leafing uses real gold, silver leafing is actually aluminum because silver tarnishes too easily. Silver leaf can be painted over other hues to produce a brilliant, metallic-looking color.

The final step is a coat of Marine Spar Varnish. Applied in several layers, the varnish protects the refurbished figure with a rich, high-gloss finish.

"Start-to-finish restoration costs vary with each piece, just as the time frame for each project is judged on an individual basis," explains DeMars. "It depends on the carver, its condition and size, and anything unusual about the trappings.

"Stripping costs are dictated by size, and the number of layers of paint beneath. We try not to estimate the cost of wood restoration until the paint is off. Sometimes, it's only the paint holding wood together." Restoration costs average $2,000-$4,000, not including variables like 23-karat gold leafing ($500 per packet, enough to cover the mane and tail on two horses.)

 

CONCLUSION

 

Carousel art collection carries a responsibility to preserve and protect the finite number of fra-gile pieces that remain. Carvers never intended them to last a hundred years, nor is wood the most durable of mediums. That they have survived at all, and continue to delight new generations of riders, is nothing short of miraculous.

First, take advantage of available resources to educate yourself on the subject – it will help you define what styles and carvers you prefer, and make you a smarter collector. Next, remember that acquisition is only half the joy of ownership. Preservation is the other. Like the bumper sticker, "Think Globally, Act Locally," expand your horizons beyond the confines of a personal collection, and support the efforts of carousel museums, associations, and clubs.

Give carousel art a future, and you'll always have the childhood of your past.

 

ASSOCIATIONS AND

PUBLICATIONS

American Carousel Society, Mary Jenkins, Exec. Secretary, 3845 Telegraph Road, Elkton, MD 21921-2442, (410) 392-4289, e-mail: carousel@dol.net

Carousel Museum New England, 95 Riverside Ave., Rt. 72, Bristol, CT 06010, (860) 585-5411 and 193 Greenmanville Ave., Rt. 27, Mystic, CT 06355, (860) 536-7862, e-mail: www.carousels.com

Carousel News & Trader, 87 Park Avenue West, Suite 206, Mansfield, OH 44902-1612, (419) 529-4999, e-mail: CNSAM@aol.com, www.carousel.net/trader/

Dentzel Carousel Co., 843 53rd Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368, (360) 385-1068, e-mail: bill@dentzel.com, www.dentzel.com

International Museum of Carousel Art, 500 North Second Street, Hood River, OR 97031, (503) 387-2979.

Magical Carousel Shoppe, Grant and Blaine Aves., Seaside Heights, NJ 08751, (800) 830-8374, e-mail: FMCAROUSEL@aol.com, www.carousels.com/cmusic2.htm

Merry-Go-Round Museum, POB 718, Sandusky, OH 44870, (419) 626-6111

William Manns, Free Appraisals, POB 6459, Santa Fe, NM 87502 (send photo & SASE)

Wooden Horse, Marianne Stevens, Appraisals, 920 W. Mescalero, Roswell, NM, 88201, (505) 622-7397

FACTOIDS

* The most expensive horse ever sold was an Illions for $125,000.

* The most expensive animal was a Dentzel St. Bernard for $250,000.

* On February 7, 1998, a Tampa, FL, auction offered a Looff sea monster ($23,350), Looff outside row stander, previously owned by Ringling Brothers ($12,100), and 1918 Parker stargazer ($1,925).

* On February 14, 1998, a Pasadena, CA, auction included three lions (Herschell & Spillman, 1905 Gustav Dentzel, and Carmel roarer), a Herschell & Spillman stork, and a Dentzel rabbit and cat. A rare Looff elephant was bought for $36,000.

* Next carousel auction is June 13, 1998, by Butterfield & Butterfield of San Francisco, CA. Over a hundred figures owned by the founder of the American Carousel Association. Private collection includes a Dentzel rooster, PTC St. Bernard (original paint), figures valued $2,500-$100,000, average: $10,000.